Aligerous
by Oceanbreeze7
Summary: Aligerous: 1. having wings; winged Shinigami are birthed into this world within a paradox. Under circumstances unexpected, Light Yagami is born (has been born) a Shinigami...except, his Death Note is already owned by a certain white haired boy who sits alone at Orange Box. Light dies, Near dies. Light awakens. Near awakens. (Far before they ever met)
1. I Prologue

_"Well Light, it looks like you've lost. "_

Uncontrollable gasping, wheezing air through punctured lungs. Raspy exhales torn between sobs and hysterical laughter. Stumbling forward bleakly, scanning desperately for somewhere to hide from prying eyes, jostling again as bones rattled and fragments shifted against bone.

 _"Remember how in the beginning, when we first met. I told you that I would be the one to write your name in my notebook? "_

Faster running, multiple footfalls combined to make a dull thrumming patter against stone. Gaining quickly as he limped lazily, red painting his lips through the leisure grin that painted teeth pink.

" _That is part of the agreement between a Shinigami who brings a notebook to the human world, and the first human who picks it up."_

"Hey! Over here!" a shout, voice echoing off shipping containers and rattling hauntingly, mimicking a wheezy laugh between rattling ribs. Footsteps gaining as a bloodied hand gingerly touched railings to a stairway, slowly stepping upwards.y

" _If they put you in prison, who knows when you'll die? "_

Four steps upwards. Four voices gaining with guns equipped and safety off.

 _"And I don't want to wait around waiting."_

"I think he's in there!"

"Where else can he go? What's on the roof!"

"The Shinigami!"

"Leave it! It knows that he's not going to-"

 _" So, it's all over. You die here."_

Eyes narrowed, grin faltering into a drunken smirk. Knees collapsing, slamming into rusted steps with a muffled bang, slumping forward with hysterical laughing.

 _"It was good while it lasted. We eased each other's boredom for quite a while."_

A pause, before slight scratching as lines were drawn against paper, Ryuk's long claws tracing with practiced ease. Heartbeats faltering as the eternal grin matched the one he adored with blood stained teeth.

 _" Well Light, it's been interesting."_

Heartbeat pounding, fighting and racing against the imaginary clock that pulsed loudly through the air.

 _Tick_

 _Tick_

 _...Tick_

And with a slumped grin, smile never faltering eyes slowly slid closed as they glazed. Blood steadily trickling regardless of the sudden halting of its primary organ.

Feet pounding, racing and shouting as they pulled against barricaded doors. Rounds discharged against the lock, firing and slamming once more to try and open the doors.

 _'...no.'_

"Sir? Shall we relocate?" Fingers traced the cracked leather, hands gently lifting and shifting it to view the spine with whatever light dimly illuminated the shipping container. Gingerly, he rose; avoiding the mess on the floor to the right, stepping aside from the splatters on the floor from Matsuda's firing. One step forward, before a sudden pulsating.

 _Bu-bump._

 _Bu-bump-_

"Sir?"

"I-" A pause, heart rate rising as a slight tremor broke the entirely calm facade, "I'm not-"

 _'No...'_

Sluggishly he sat upright, head pulsating through the foggy haze of distortion. The air itself swirling and pulsating in and out of red speckled dust, vibrating in time with a silent clock.

 _Bu-bump._

 _Bu-bump._

 _Bu-bump_

The door burst open, guns raised and peering through the haze with trembling fingers on triggers. Peering into the dark and stiffening as the fractured light through grimy shattered window illuminated the stairwell in broken pieces of light.

"Oh god-" One spoke, strangled and leaning heavily within the doorway. Slowly sliding downwards only to cringe as the slippery pathway only highlighted the monstrous trail he had taken.

"It's...over?" The others mumbled, swallowing reflexively to resist the urge of vomiting. Struggling to look away as yet the corpse seemed to attract all attention in the area.

 _'...No, it's not over.'_

"What- what are we supposed to do now?" One questioned, voice rising in anxiety. Trembles fully taking over the form of the man as sobs began to overwhelm him, "We- what are we-"

"It's okay." The other stated firmly. "It's over."

 _'No...It...It's not over. It is not over. I will not let it be over.'_

"Sir?"

 _Bu-bump_

 _Bu-bump_

 _Bu-bump_

"Sir!"

He dropped, collapsing and gasping, twitching as fingers tightened reflexively over the old cracked black leather of the book, fingers feeling the slight differences with the grooves and grains along the spine.

 _"I will not let this be over."_

Two heads simultaneously shot up from where they had been staring mesmerized in horror over the grotesque display of who was once their friend. Paling, guns rising but faltering from the shakes which had developed upon discovery of the corpse.

"Oh god." The one whimpered, as unsteadily it stepped down. Entire body stumbling.

 _"I will not let this be over."_

Newly born red eyes hazily glided over the two humans, not yet seeing as it stumbled downwards, bones cracking and snapping sickly with each step as it wheezed through broken lungs.

 _Bu-bump_

 _Bu-bump_

"...Light." The one whispered, voice not traveling as the newly born creature stepped downwards once more, hands reflexively opening and closing over translucent dead skin.

 _Bu-bump_

 _"You haven't won."_

 _Bu-bump_

Newly born Light Yagami smiled, blood stained mouth matching wide crimson eyes. With one step with a cracking sound of rock shattering it vanished in a ghastly smell of staleness.

 _Bu-bump_

 _Bu-_

Simultaneously, Near, the owner of the newly born notebook, died.


	2. II Near III Light

_II. Near_

There is a brief distinct moment where the conscious is aware of awakening. A fine second of thought starting and hormones pumping alongside a sudden sharp inhalation of oxygen with a rapidly increasing heart rate. Eyes dilating and contracting rapidly to adapt to the new sensory input of light and movement.

When under the assumption that death had welcomed you, such an awakening could be potentially terrifying.

An obnoxious loud buzzing sound jolted Near awake, promptly causing him to instinctively flail and hurl the shapeless white blankets onto the floor where they impacted with a gentle muffled _thump._

He stared, blinking in confusion swaying disoriented as one hand shifted backwards behind his upright torso to help stabilize his lack of coordination. One hand dislodged a single fluffy pillow which shifted backwards to bunch against a rather nondescript headboard, pressed against the wall.

He stilled, mind rapidly taking in information from his setting. Slowly he turned his head to the left where the obnoxious alarm had jolted him from his unconscious state prior. An alarm clock fitted with a childish blue plastic boxing figurine had popped, its head dislodging in a comical way with a loud buzz. Numbly he reached out, unaware that his hands were shaking with a miniscule tremor as he gingerly shifted the plastic figurine head back to its proper location before glancing at the time the clock displayed.

 _10:15_

He blinked, minuscule shifting his head to glance at the light peering in from beyond the thick curtains drawn over the windows. Calculating the angle of the rays of probing sunlight, the time was indeed correct.

The fact that there was a window in itself prompted serious questions and only served to further the intensity of Near's headache.

 _'Where am I? Who would have wasted so much time creating such an accurate duplicate?'_ he stiffened, observing the room in full once the thought presented itself. _'Whoever constructed this cage has the capabilities or knowledge of my room at Whammy's.'_

More questions formed the faster he thought about his situation. Why was a window available if whoever had relocated him went through such strenuous effort to transport him and replicate his room?

Who had the power of transporting him without his knowledge?

 _'Last I remember, the confrontation between-'_

Near jolted with the realization, arching forwards and tripping onto the ground from the short distance his bed stood above the bed. Childishly lashing out, his feet slamming outwards hard and impacting ankle bones against the wood with a loud painful sounding click. The moment his sock clad feet were free from the off white comforter he skidded backwards, arms assisting to create an efficient although not graceful crawl away towards the centre of the room.

All angles he glanced with wide eyes, breathing increasing rapidly as he searched for some sort of flaw in the design or execution of the construction of the cage.

 _'There must be a flaw. There must be some sort of reasoning for my seeming relocation to a room I have not occupied in years. There must be something I am missing. I couldn't have been unconscious for long or more serious side effects would have been prominen-'_

"Near?" A childish female voice asked on the other side of the door, knocking tentatively twice on the chestnut wood, "Near? Are you alright? I heard something hit and it sounded painful. Are you alright?"

Near stared at the door, entirely motionless. With his pale skin, white hair and clothing he looked like a ghost in the sterile cold room that had served as his childhood room for as long as he could remember.

Sluggishly he responded, brain freezing from the voice that was unarguably Linda. "I'm fine."

"Oh, alright Near," The voice trailed away accompanied with light footsteps heading to the right of his door, "I think the kitchen still has some breakfast."

He voice lingered off as she walked further away. Near, from where he was still nearly hyperventilating from the floor slowly stood up. He took a few steps closer towards the windows, yanking the curtain back and hissing reflexively away from the scalding light of the near afternoon.

Children were…. _outside._

Walking and running around in varying shades of pastels and bright clothing that repulsed Near. The sun was bright and instantly his eyes were watering at the intensity, forcing him to release the curtain and take shelter behind in the dark once more.

 _'I'm...I'm...in the past? I can't but...I must be...'_

 _'Kira...has not been caught yet.'_

x-(X)-x

Near's blessing was his lack of social connection within Whammy's House.

Originally such a thing seemed pitiful for a man- _'Boy, I am in the body of a child,'_ \- but he considered it a blessing he was exhaustedly grateful for.

Children he remembered faintly with a hazy memory didn't glance up from various chairs or where they sprawled on the wide hallway floors, plucking at the oriental carpet and rambling obnoxiously. At times Near found the constant drone of child voices insufferable, now he welcomed them with an ache he was unaware he had missed.

It had been fairly...isolated, during his hunt for Kira. He was unaccustomed to the natural light filtering in through large glass windows, or the rugs that didn't bite cold into his socks like the metallic floor of the Taskforce did.

Regardless, Near would not let his guard down, he refused to accept that this was not some sort of Shinigami trick. It simply must have been- there was no other sort of evidence which implied that there was some other form of power. Then again the concept of Shinigami themselves were rather vague in information. Perhaps there was a species of Shinigami which granted the power of time travel? No, such idea would have long since been used allowing Kira to thwart the Taskforce; for how tricky Kira was to catch, he would not have allowed so many careless mistakes if he was permitted such a power.

 _'Then whatever else has affected me in such a way?'_ Near mused, padding softly down the giant staircase towards the main entrance of the orphanage. His body nearly brushed the elaborate railing closest to the wall as children just a few years his younger rushed past him with energy he himself did not possess, _'Perhaps the Shinigami Ryuk would have such a power. If that was such the case, then why after Kira's death would it be used? Why on me?'_

Near paused, hesitating for a fragment of a second as a rather chilling through managed to intrude itself into his rather concise thinking logic, _'Perhaps I am not the only one who has transversed into the past.'_

No, he would not let such dreadful thoughts intrude his mind. There was not enough data to suggest such a thing, so until he was proven wrong he would not assume such a thing. To his knowledge, he was the only one sent backwards in this temporal loop.

With one hand separated from the large door by his over sized sleep shirt sleeve, he pushed the large doors into the kitchen open enough for him to slip through. The large kitchen and dining area combined was absent of all people, something which was a relief to his mind. It was disorienting to see and hear children's faces and voices whom he could recollect vanishing years back, or was it years forward? Once he, Matt, and Mello left Whammy's Near never paid that much attention to the progress of the other children, with the exception of Linda of course-

 _'Mello.'_ Near thought with such numb shock he froze once more. Staring aimlessly at a small dusting of spilled cereal on the granite counter top of the kitchen island. _'I had forgotten. Mello would still be...in a state of living at this point of time.'_

Near wasn't quite sure what to think of that realization. The appearance of Mello, Matt at the very least would further cement his theory of time displacement, and not that this entire experience was an elaborate hoax created by some third party organization with the intent to torture him for information. After all, the position of L was highly prized.

Near cautiously approached the fridge, walking around the granite and out of the direct footpath of the large doors.

Correct to Linda's statement (As well as Near's distant memory), food was set aside from breakfast hours prior for the children who arose later in the day. Near knew that he was not the only one who tended to have reverse sleeping patterns, preferring to roam and study in the cover of shade and lamplight over the burningly harmful rays of sunlight outside. The fact that he was awake now was a startling thing which he absentmindedly assumed it was from whatever experience he had before his awakening. Time zones must be altered by time travel of course.

With one fork he lazily poked at a sad looking pancake. He frowned, noticing its stiff texture and quickly labeling it as inedible, or at least unappealing to him. Instead he opted to open the fridge, grimacing at the mechanical bright light it triggered, to pull out a carton of orange juice from the industrial size cooling machine.

Muscle memory took place for unfamiliar movements as he found the clear glasses stacked with concerning perfection in a cupboard just to the right of the industrial sink. Stiffly he poured himself a glass, nose wrinkling at the thick spongy pulp which managed to trap bubbles and float like weeds and dead cattails on an acidic pond.

"Disgusting." Near mumbled under his breath, bizarrely pondering the idea of using a fork to sift out the thick mess.

"Ay, you're the only one which finds pulp nasty," an unexpected voice caused Near to turn, arm hitting the glass where it had rested precariously on the counter. The movement knocked it into a near aggressive action, jumping a short two feet outwards before crashing into the floor loudly with a high pitch sound of breaking glass. Near stared, looking downwards at his feet where the pulp was touching his toes and orange juice soaking into his once white socks.

 _'My socks are working excellently to filter the pulp.'_ He almost dazedly noticed, _'Perhaps it is a use for cotton I had not considered before.'_

Matt blinked, looking downward at the floor obviously startled despite his ragged appearance. His dark red hair was messed up and not particularly the definition of clean. Slight bags were under his glassy eyes, dulled with post-sleep confusion. His disturbing fashion sense was somewhat tamed from his bed apparel, being only an over sized striped shirt and once more over sized sleep pants. Bare toes wriggled in the orange juice that was creeping over towards him.

"Huh," He mumbled, jaw twitching as he suppressed a yawn, blinking lazily at Near, "you're a little jumpy."

Near said absolutely nothing.

"Not that it's bad, but," he used his arms to sluggishly motion towards Near, "You're supposed to be the textbook kid of _'Mechanical emotionless'_ " Matt's voice changed with cartoonish deepness as he smirked a tired yet amused smile, "Not every day I startle you enough that you drop your juice. Wait, actually why are you drinking juice to begin with? Didn't one of the cooks tell you yesterday we ran out of that 'no-pulp' crap you like so much?"

Near stared, heart beat increasing as Matt continued with his quips, fingers twitching with an out of character urge to reach out and see if the pale Scottish skin was as real as it looked.

"Actually, why are you even _up?"_ Matt looked baffled, reaching up with one eye to rub at it with a fist, "Didn't you just go to sleep four or five hours ago?"

That was very well possible, although considering the nearly unreadable way the other was wordlessly calculating and thinking of possible scenarios, Near jumped on the first opportunity he could.

"I was requiring something to drink. It appears I was parched when I awoke just moments ago."

Matt's eyebrows rose as he looked at the mess on the floor once more, "You have a sink in your attached bedroom, you sheep-for-brains. There is orange juice on the floor. With pulp."

"I shall clean it immediately-" Near quickly added, careful to keep his voice as level and monotone as he dared with how suspicious and confused Matt evidently was by his actions.

"Nah," Matt waved his arm at the floor, "Mello the blonde haired idiot kept me up late last night, wanting me to work on one of his projects. He's been up for hours, let _him_ deal with it."

Near wasn't exactly comfortable with that. Not that he was particularly keen on cleaning up the shards of broken glass and the sticky citrus which had soaked into his socks; he was so used for Rester-

 _'Rester.'_

Near stiffened once more and ducked his head to the side, hunching over slightly as his hands fumbled along his baggy sleep pants before he realized he had no pockets in these particular pair.

Matt stared, looking oddly attentive without his ruby goggles which acted as a filter between his eyes and everywhere else. His mouth moved slightly, chewing on one lip as he stared at Near, obviously trying to decipher whatever caused the slight alteration of his normal personality.

"You feeling alright?" Matt asked casually, leaning back with one smooth motion that looked more practiced than it was intentional. "You seem a little out of it."

 _'Yes, I suspect suddenly transversing the time boundary would bring along slight distortion as a side effect,'_ Near paused, _'Hopefully the only side effect,'_

"My cognitive function is not impair-"

"Impaired, right," Matt scoffed, rolling his eyes in a partially mocking way, "You're either sick or tired. Considering you went to bed probably less than three hours ago, and you're as nocturnal as a bat, I'm thinking the latter."

Near paused, "That would be a logical conclusion-"

"Obviously not or you wouldn't have said that. Start talking, or I'll sic' Mello on you."

Near was not sure how he would manage to continue acting indifferent if his carefully created composure was flattering enough at the sight of Matt alone.

"That will not be necessary." Near stiffly stated, voice gaining an authoritative tone he had subconsciously shifted back into, similar as to whenever he was talking over live feed to 'L' "I will be returning to my room at this time."

Matt paused, observing Near warily as he stepped out of the way after brief hesitation, "...Alright Near," He stated, lifting his hands to show he was unharmed, although his narrowed eyes showed not at all his submission, "I give."

Near walked out quietly, his padded footsteps swapped for the rather disgusting _squish squish_ wet slap of his orange juice saturated foot apparel.

He didn't meet anyone along the stairwell or in the main hallway He assumed it was because it was now approaching eleven in the morning, and classes for the younger children had started. Near alongside a handful of other children had 'graduated' or exceeded past what the mentors of Whammy's House had provided and now independently focused on various areas of crime solving. Matt was specifically proficient with technological hacking, although not limiting to that. His talent extended to programming, coding, technologically building, wiring, and as Near had learned in what he remembered as months from now ( _'How confusing it is to remember the future'_ He thought to himself), a secret fascination with constructing explosives. Linda had trained herself for excellent criminal profiling. She had impressed- will impress- Near himself on several occasions with her accurate criminal profiles and realistic sketches that tended to match the physical description of whomever they were tracking. He had employed her skill to mimic portraits of himself and Mello later on to send to the Kira Taskforce in Kanto, Japan.

And Mello, he tended to be everything Near despised within detective and criminal tracking. Impulsive, emotional, aggressive and violent. Perhaps not now, but Near could easily remember the guttural growl he made as he held his own team at Taskforce, anger burning-

Near had almost forgotten that the scars had not yet seared their mark upon Mello's skin.

 _III. Light_

Confusion and throbbing aching pain, unable to differentiate _where_ it emerged drawing a hazy screen over rationality and comprehension. Memory skewed between glimpses of seconds and years leaving an incomprehensible blur.

 _'I- I don't-'_

Screaming, the echoing sound of loud male screaming accompanied by the unmistakable sound of gunfire- rounds discharging increasing in volume until the loud pitch phantom whistle made his hands jerk reflexively towards his ears and his eyes tighten and jaw grinding sorely.

It vanished nearly the same second as when he summoned control over his limbs. Sluggishly moving his arms upwards towards his face which struggled to lift eyelids. Overshooting, his hand smacked into his cheekbone rather forcefully, jerking his head and sending all of his senses into wide awake alert as he coughed harshly.

Some sort of snarled cackled sounded nearby, causing him to flinch and curve reflexively away from the noise as he struggled to get his eyes to focus.

"Nice one!" It howled, a dull repetitive thudding noise, it slapping something against the ground Light assumed, "Why are you hitting yourself! Why are you hitting yourself!" It cackled once more.

 _'It saw that. How disgraceful.'_ Light thought to himself bitterly as he struggled to have his eyes focus. Instead, a sharp pain flashed through his head forcing him to close his eyes. Instead he drew his arm back- careful this time. Using his palm and forearm he rolled himself gingerly, careful not to aggregate whatever was making him sore in his confusion.

 _'Where am I? How did I get here? I was- I- did Ryuk do this?"_ He struggled to form cohesive thought as he managed to scramble into an undignified sitting position. The demon cackling again from his left side.

"Little tipsy there, eh?" It made the bizarre thumping noise again at which Light blindly scowled. His glare must have been aimed partially in the right direction, he had practiced the dark scowl enough times to have faith in his facial expressions.

Once more he tried opening his eyes, wincing with the smallest sound and bringing his hands carefully up to his face to press against the pressure in his eye sockets.

"First day with the new eyes?" It cackled, and Light pondered the chances whoever this was would die from natural causes sometime soon.

"Where am I?" Light growled out, his own voice sounding distorted through the throbbing in his head. His words effectively cut off whatever rambles the insane loon of his companion was mumbling about before he started speaking.

"It speaks!" It howled in mock glee, "Congratulations-"

"Where am I?" Light repeated, taking care not to snap at the man. His aura must have appeared, because the entire atmosphere nearby seemed to have a somewhat darker tone to it with his words. Silence, before the man spoke in a deeper voice as well.

"Why," It growled amused, a smirk in its pronunciation, "Don't you open your eyes and look for yourself?"

The fact that the man knew that Light was effectively blind at the moment startled him, although stubborn pride would not allow him to prove the man's words right. Light turned slowly and confidently, back arching to sit straighter on the ground as he slowly and purposefully opened his eyes, not blinking or recoiling as his head howled with pain and his vision flashed colours unknown to him. He could only assume that he had chosen to stare in the right direction, because any sort of visual input was nearly more disorienting than the entire situation in general.

The ground shifted in and out of focus, pulsing erratically with a slight pink before being overridden by magenta or lavender. Increasing and rapidly decreasing, eyes sharpening to a clarity that he vaguely noticed- must have been impossible for low-grade camera technology.

"Huh," It gave a somewhat sheepish grumble, voice rising to an obnoxiously nasal pitch due to its uncertainty, "Didn't really expect that actually."

The sudden sound helped Light's eyes shift instinctively towards the source, widening as they focused. His body tensed in preparation to move, back cracking with the softest sound of audible stiffness.

"So," It shuffled, the dull thumping now a slight fumbling on the disgustingly unsanitary floor, "Is this the part where I apologize?" Its head rotated sideways with the uncanny resemblance to a dog. From there all parallels to a domesticated canine ended abruptly.

Although it's voice wasn't as distorted as it should be given the bloated awkward head on a spindly neck, the mocking crescendos certainly resembled one Shinigami Light was well accustomed to.

 _'This one,'_ Light observed disinterestedly, _'Looks more like some sort of elephant than any god of death.'_

"Who are you?" Light asked as calmly composed as he could. Nonetheless, his voice obviously conveyed his disinterest with the situation because the Shinigami looked even more uncomfortable.

"Well-" It shuffled, one stubbly grey leg shifting weight with the thud Light had heard prior, "I'm Klum-"

"Klum," Light spoke, somehow managing to pronounce the blunt name with some resemblance of elegance, "Would you happen to know how I am able to see you if I haven't touched your Death note?"

Klum blinked, large bulbous eyes hazing in a slow dumb confusion as it once more tilted its head, "My Death note?" It asked, taking a large dizzying step forward whilst nearly falling at the action. Its spindly arms flailed wildly as it lurched forwards once more.

Light scoffed silently, observing the uncoordinated movements of the Shinigami with slight revolt.

 _'Although Ryuk wasn't the most graceful,'_ Light surmised, _'He at least knew how to properly walk.'_

With an undignified groan, Klum dropped to the ground nearby Light. It's large bulging fish eyes staring at him hazily as its blunt legs curled under it. Exhaling, Light found its breath particularly sour and found his lips twitching into a slight scowl before he could stop it.

"You were sitting so it's no fun standing all alone." It concluded, somehow looking quite achieved with its statement.

 _'Is it possible for a Shinigami to have a mental impairment?'_ Light pondered.

"So how long have you been here?" Klum asked like a child, clapping its skeletal thin arms together. "I've never seen you around, and you were asking for my Deathnote. What happened to yours? Did you lose it?"

 _'...What?'_

Klum seemed to notice Light's tension. It frowned and reached over with one spindly arm, prodding his chest rather harshly. Light hissed in surprise at the contact, throwing a carefully restrained glare at the creature.

"I'd appreciate if you refrain from touching me."

Klum blinked dozily before giving a disturbingly affectionate pat on Light's shoulder.

Light reacted faster than he had expected. His right forearm managed to knock into Klum's own spindly limb, knocking it off course to pat Light's shoulder. The impact sent muted flares of pain up Light's arm, although much less than he would have anticipated.

Klum yelped, scrambling backwards and onto his back. Its legs were elevated, kicking wildly as it rotated slowly. It belatedly occurred to Light that Klum was unable to orient itself.

Light scoffed, using both forearms to lift himself upright.

The action of standing required more effort than Light would care to admit, although not due to weight or weakness. His body was lighter than he had anticipated, standing upright he nearly toppled from overcompensating his weight.

Hissing quietly to himself he swung one arm out to balance. From there, he noticed some obvious differences.

He was...taller. Holding out one arm he observed the difference in his arm size. He had always be somewhat slender and lean, but now it appeared to be almost stretched. From what he could tell with his clothing, it seemed all of his limbs had been stretched similarly.

His vision seemed to have calmed, although Klum had not. From its agitated flailing state it had proceeded to summon its large bat-like wings (which only added to its unsettling appearance) to thrash and stir dust into the air.

Light scowled at the Shinigami which was surprisingly short and stocky compared to his newly added height.

 _'Pathetic'_

Turning, with careful steps he started to walk away from where he had awoken.


	3. IV Near V Light

_IV. Near_

 _'Acting ignorant,'_ Near thought, gently sliding one puzzle piece into place with a small _snap! 'Is much more difficult than I had originally assumed.'_

Four days after his initial awakening, Near had made a simple plan.

He would not interfere with events in the current progression of time. Residing at Whammy's was the best course of action in his mind. Now, he simply had more time to evaluate his choices and form a new plan to arrest Kira before civilian casualties like last time. There was no reason for him to intercept events as they had played out.

Near would simply bide his time and wait until it was his turn to battle Light Yagami. The most difficult dilemma Near had quickly realized, was determining _where_ exactly in the time stream he had awoken to.

Near was well aware that at this point of time Light Yagami must have transferred ownership of the notebook to someone else. The few reports of who had died countered greatly with what Near had instinctively learned as Kira's preferred victims. The main difficulty was determining _what_ had occurred during this time.

 _'Is Light Yagami under surveillance?"_ Near pondered, shifting and moving another puzzle piece with a sharp snap, _'Or is he currently on the investigation? If the latter, then the death of L is looming ever closer.'_

That was something which left Near unsettled, unable to determine his nearly absent emotions. Was it truly his job to prevent his mentor's death? Was whatever force that had propelled him into the past urging him to save one life?

Regardless the case, information had to be gathered to determine what exactly was taking place in the Kira Task Force headquarters.

 _'I need access to the growing list of casualties. The most recent death will allow me to determine where in the timeline the Kira Investigation is.'_ Near frowned slightly as he placed the final puzzle piece into the gaping hole quietly, _'But to do so I require access to the internet database. Which is only through the library computers.'_

He sat there in front of his completed puzzle. He sat, silently staring at the pale white square with a blank face as his mind hurriedly calculated the best route to the library computers. Assuming that the younger children would be occupied with mandatory classes provided at Whammy's, in two hours the library would be vacant of prying eyes.

The Kira case was well known and widespread gossip around the orphanage. In Near's opinion, it would not seem that out of character that he showed interest in the case. Near could always state that he was studying L's techniques or attempting to comprehend the information and predict moves from Kira and L.

 _'But is interacting and altering the future truly what I am intended to do?'_ Near questioned himself. _'I don't understand why. Why Kira instead of other disastrous events in human history. What is the logic behind this?'_

The steady ticking of the clock echoed the technical thinking as Near considered all possible information. His fingers twitched slightly, anxious to play or twist a toy in his grip as information became more distressing.

 _'Perhaps I am not the first? Perhaps this has happened in the past. Then how horrid is the future? How many disasters has humanity prevented? How many disasters has humanity suffered through?'_

Near exhaled softly, one hand climbing upwards to tangle in a strand of his hair.

He stared blankly at the puzzle as his tugs became more and more forceful. Absentmindedly, he jolted as his skull throbbed with sharp pain at once especially brutal tug against his hair.

He paused, lowering his hand. It rested limply in his lap as he gave a soft sigh once more.

 _'I need more information before deciding anything.'_

x-(X)-x

 _"CEO of the Jakasi Corporation was found dea-"_

 _"People frantic as Kira's killing rates increase after the hiatus two months ago-"_

 _"Six prisoners in the Kanto-"_

 _"Member of the Board of Directors of the-"_

Near scoffed so lightly his voice was barely a whisper. Clicking out of the biased news report, he lazily scanned the article headlines for names.

According to the names and the altered pattern, it was fairly obvious to Near that the ownership of the notebook had transferred owners. Alongside his prior knowledge of the Kira case and its interaction with the Yotsuba Corporation.

But _when?_ _When_ was the notebook transferred to the Kira Task Force headquarters, and placed within Light Yagami's possession?

"I thought you said that you weren't interested in Kira?"

Near didn't react to the voice. Nor did he move away from the computer or try to close the news article as Matt walked from around the bookcase from where he had a clear vantage point to peer at Near's computer.

"I fail to see how being uninformed is preferred." Near spoke dully. Matt approached quietly, his sock clad feet rhythmically drowned out the sharp clicking of a computer mouse.

"That is true," Matt confessed, dropping into a chair heavily and temporarily expressing a face of bliss at the comfortable chair, "Although weren't you last week just saying that you weren't going to interfere with this? Mello blew a fuse when he found out that you weren't even going to look into it."

Near paused, lifting his hands before setting them on his lap gently. He glanced down, bangs hiding his face as Matt glanced at him with a frown. The computer monitor glowed in the reflection of his goggles.

"You've been acting odd, Near." Matt stated bluntly, tilting his head slightly as he tried to see Near's face, "More so than usual."

 _'Would it be beneficial for Matt or Mello to be aware of this? Information of future events could drastically change everything, perhaps make it even more difficult than last time.'_ Near pondered, staring at the screen without seeing, _'If Mello offered his cooperation from this point in time. We would have a devastatingly powerful advantage.'_

"I have been…" Near started, pausing as he chose his words with utmost care, "...Debating a moral dilemma."

Matt's eyebrows rose. He leaned back slowly, crossing his legs and propping them up onto the computer desk. His arms languidly crossed over his chest and he exhaled purposefully heavily.

"Having a Mid-life crisis there?"

"I am hardly nearing the decline of my intellectual growth." Near bit out, partially offended.

Matt seemed to ignore the slightly aggressive tone and gave a snort, "That may be true there, but with how long our life expectancy is, maybe this is the middle of our life?"

Near flinched minutely. _'More.;_

Matt stared at him calculatingly. Slowly he lowered his feet and stared at Near with something similar to childish curiosity.

"You're taking on L's case?"

Near's lips twitched ever so slightly, one hand twisting upwards to a strand of his white hair. _'How to answer this. If I say I am, then I have disregarded information I apparently told Mello before my arrival. Or awakening. If I deny this then it will only further strengthen Matt's suspicion.'_

"...I am investigating a theory of mine." Near concluded, twirling his hair whilst Matt snorted.

"Near, _everyone_ has a theory about Kira's identity. It would be a surprise if you hadn't pondered the idea of his identity. What's startling now is the fact you're acting on your suspicion."

Near paused, "So you too have theorized on the identity of Kira?"

Matt looked at the computer before reaching over Near and gasping the mouse. Clicking a few hyperlinks absentmindedly, leading to nowhere he spoke with a low voice.

"We all have theorized on Kira. I have, Mello has, i'm sure that you have as well."

Near said nothing.

"I don't see logic in explaining my theory to you Near," Matt turned in his chair, pointing his body entirely towards the physically younger boy, "But it seems to me that _you_ have a theory that you're confident in."

There was a pause. The two said nothing as Matt continued to click on links on the computer, skimming the surface of information.

"You're right."

Matt smiled ever so slightly.

"I have a...strong inclination to believe that L is in imminent danger." Near stared blankly, "And I intend to contact him."

Near was well aware that Matt was staring at him. The computer mouse clicking cut off abruptly.

"You…" Matt trailed off unsure, "You intend to contact L?"

Near gave a short nod, turning to stare unblinkingly into Matt's shocked eyes.

"I was determining the best course of action on how to contact L. We were not provided any contact information nor information about his whereabouts."

"No doubt that Whammy made sure that they would be unreachable in exception of the higher end of the orphanage." Matt exhaled suddenly, slumping downwards in surprise, "Which would be Roger."

Near gave a slight nod, hesitant and wary as he stated coldly, "You are correct."

Matt gave a short disbelieving laugh, "When you were acting off I was thinking you had been trying to sneak cases on your own, or you were trying to mess with Mello all over-"

"It is not my intent to agitate Mello," Near softly spoke, tilting his head slightly at Matt, "In fact if this situation escalates I would greatly appreciate his cooperation."

Matt blinked, expressions twisting in confusion. His fingers twitched in a nervous tick, itching to click wildly at the computer mouse or twirl a pencil.

"Not only do you want to contact L, but you want Mello to help too." Matt stood abruptly, "Something is wrong with you."

"Perhaps I thought some troubling matters through." Near murmured nearly under his breath.

Matt stood, looking down at Near with something unreadable in his eyes. "It must have been some great epiphany then."

"Yes," Near sighed exhaustively, "It most certainly was."

Matt hadn't argued with Near after the information he provided. Instead he had mumbled under his breath to come by his room in half an hour. With little else to do, Near had obliged and walked down to the room. With nearly no words beyond the abrupt greeting he had slipped a small flash drive into his hand with the instructions that it would skim the office computer and copy any contact information for L or his other personas.

Wishing Near the best of luck, he slipped inside his room once more although keeping it unlocked.

Near currently was shuffling down the main hallway. Younger children were in classrooms as well as the teaching staff. If Near recalled correctly, Roger had head into the most nearby town to receive a produce shipment for the kitchens. Sneaking into the office and scouting out any files and paperwork for information should hypothetically be rather simple.

The door was locked, although it was easily broken from a small lock pick Matt had supplied Near with. Near had accepted the device, faintly associating such a tool with Mello's later stunts.

The door opened with painful ease. The mahogany sliding soundlessly to the empty office that was much more cluttered and unstructured than Whammy's. Paper was scattered along the desktop and shuffled into awkward piles.

The door behind Near slid shut and with little hesitation he walked across the office and slid the flash drive into the computer available. Immediately the screen shifted and displayed numerous numbers of code and files flicking past at a speed too quick for Near's comprehension. Turning his back to the computer, he looked at the wall where names and numbers were posted with thumb tacks amidst sticky notes with handwritten notes from the younger children.

 _'Best to remove the photographs of the three of us at this point instead of latter.'_ Near summarized, pulling open the lowest filing cabinet and plucking the photos from where he had once long ago. _'I doubt that Yagami would gain enough influence to find these. In the past timeline he was unaware of Whammy's House to my knowledge, but has my presence already altered the timestream?'_

Near frowned and slipped the two photos into the pockets of his Pajama pants. Shuffling through the folders, purposefully looking in the files he had not time to sift through the past time.

His fingers fell upon a card with a number Near knew automatically linked straight to Whammy.

 _'So no direct contact number. Not that I expected to find any.'_ Near summarized, placing the papers back nearly identically to how he had seen them. With care he plucked the flash drive from the computer and stepped aside. Near walked towards the hallway with full confidence that Matt had already deleted the camera feed that showed he had been inside the office to begin with.

With little else to do, Near walked towards Matt's room.

 _V. Light_

Light walked. The sands of desolate dark ground he walked on burned his feet as they wore into the cracks of his dried skin. There was no wind which could stir up the sand into a stinging bite, but all along his lower legs they tingled numb and dead as he walked farther and further.

Light had noticed that the sky never seemed to lighten or darken. Instead it was always filled with an overcast dull grey. Shadowed mountains in the distance never seemed to draw closer by much. The worn path Light had found proved to seem as untraveled as the land seemed uninhabitable.

Although Light felt tired, it was more of a dull boredom due to the continuous input of of the monotonous landscape. Even the air seemed to have the same dull smell and warmth. He hadn't felt any actual physical exhaustion. He wasn't pained by hunger or thirst, and although his sense of time was rather damaged from his confusion and distorted sense of how long he had been unconscious. Nonetheless, he was convinced he had been walking for at least a day.

And still he walked.

With a dull sense of satisfaction, Light was able to differentiate closer shapes in the distance. They shifted in size, different against the rocky cliffs in the distance. With a relieved smirk, Light felt his lips crack from his dehydration. One hand rose to his mouth, feeling the crack with a slight grimace as he checked his fingertips to see if blood had gathered from the split.

 _'No blood. Yet the split feels deep. Interesting, and there is no pain.'_

Shaking his head with a scoff, he continued onward. Feet scraping the dust which wore at his feet and made cracks against his skin.

Mountains turned to boulders/ Hills turned to burned trees hollow from age. The further Light walked, the more the desert fields changed into gravely hollows with cliffs and canyons and eventually dead forests.

 _'It seems much more likely that Shinigami would inhabit this area compared to the desert.'_ Light scowled ever so slightly, eyes narrowing and vision fluctuating with his intense eyesight. _'I fail to see how anyone would prefer to live in the sand when it burns like that.'_

For a small moment Light dwelled on the thought of submerging Matsuda up to his neck in the sand.

Forests split and now the trails on the ground seemed much more well shaped, claws and large feet split the ground in unmistakable paths. Rocks were placed purposefully in distorted lopsided couches and chairs. Scales and chunks of bone and other organic material lay shrouded in the dust. Light kicked one bone and watched as it flew, shattering against rock like weakened ice.

It seemed apparent that he was reaching the outskirts of wherever he was. There were no buildings or large monuments reaching high into the grey gloomy sky. Rocks formed the sides of the wall's, foundations of buildings, or perhaps furniture that cracked long ago.

They were all made from a uniform dull grey, lifeless and monochromatic regardless the distance they were viewed at.

Light noticed numbly, the rocks made an odd sound as his feet kicked them. A distant clicking sound, similar to two objects colliding underwater.

The action of walking became so increasingly dull Light found himself acknowledging the lack of mental stimulus by interpreting the distant rock formations like shapes in clouds.

 _'There's no clouds here'._ His mind narrated nearly dazed. _'Does that mean there is no atmosphere? No precipitation? Perhaps there is no oxygen after all.'_

Walking transitioned to limping. Limping transitioned to slow lumbering. Lumbering transitioned into a drawling walk- rising upwards to walk on calloused balls of his feet. Arches exposed yet not damaged despite the rocky terrain.

Light refused to ponder when in this mindscape his shoes had dissipated.

The world looked post-apocalyptic. Sickly black grasses which crumbled with sick cracking sounds. At some point he had wandered through a radiated orchard, branches charred and fruit dehydrated to resemble leather. Perhaps his curiosity or his numb illogical spontaneity- the apple tasted of sand. It rubbed raw, ripping like barbed wire and burning like saltwater. The corners of his mouth, split upon his awaking, pulled further at his helpless clawing an instinctual hisses of pain.

He kept walking, once purposefully now was aimless. It was because of this, he nearly overlooked the small collection of creatures.

One looked up, cocking it's jawless head with a disinterest sigh. The sound, barely loud enough to transverse the distance slowly stopped Light.

Unperturbed by the odd movements, the jawless creature asked croaking "Where are you going?"

Light looked over, eyes meeting the bored gaze. They held glances, and slowly Light turned, shifting from his linear path he had traveled for so long.

"I don't know." Light's voice was much more hoarse than he was aware it had been. "Why are you sitting here of all places?"

One of the creatures on the left started clicking and cackling in earnest, looking over with a long tongue lolling from the skull of a dead hackle.

"Tell us, stranger. Where else to be?"

Light frowned, looking around the small gathering of Shinigami nestled in the gravel. The jackal sprawled on the ground, tribal bones and markings hung from it's feathered neck and symbols. The jawless creature was short and stumpy, compacted neatly with thick four fingered hands. Silent, a mouth less feminine figure was sprawled catlike. Along her arms and hollowed chest dirtied bandages coated and elaborately formed ratty designs. Purple and rounded a Shinigami sat alongside a rock, resembling the boulder itself. Finally a hunched creature perched on it's own slightly talon clad feet, black shapeless tendrils constructed it similar to a straight jacket. It's head tucked low enough that Light founder differentiate what was scalp and want was the tendrils.

" _Ooh_ ," the bandaged female stretched, voice velvety patronizing, "you're a _newborn."_

"What?" The jawless one illogically blurted out, impulsively thrashing it's feet.

"I wasn't aware that such a thing was scorned around here." Light slid back casually into fake charisma, pulling a charming smile which tugged at the corners of his mouth, "if you allow me to help, I'm sure we can work off any differences?"

The five Shinigami stared at Light, before silently the shrouded one shuddered.

"We'll aren't you a _doll."_ The feline stretched languidly, a fluid smile someone represented through bandages. "My name is Kin. A _pleasure."_

Light found himself wishing to grind his teeth.

"I am called Osiris." The jackal grinned, pointing with one feathered claw to the others, the jawless one "That's Gray," he pointed towards the stocky purple, "that's Tariq", and finally his hand lingered on the straight jacket before throwing his hand up exasperated. "He keeps changing."

Light looked at the shrouded male barely caring, already he memorized the names and filed them into useless information.

"What's your name, newborn?" Osiris growled out with a smirk. Kin gave a partially obnoxious scoff and turned, rolling to display her back and ignorance. Light calmly smiled.

' _What is my name?'_ light questioned while smiling slightly. His eyes flicked upwards to the dully pulsating sky and then downwards to the desolate sands. His feet curled slightly into the sand, gravel bits worming under his nails. _'I am- I am dead. I am a Shinigami.'_

Light froze. His eyes widened with a sharp inhale as his eyes flashed a magnitude of colours.

 _'I am...a god of death.'_

"Kira." He summarized with a tone of indifference, shifting to appear at ease, "I am Kira."

A pause.

"Well isn't _this_ a _surprise."_


	4. VI Near VII Light

_VI. Near_

"I found four phone numbers in the old guy's files," Near heard the moment he quietly clicked the door behind him.

Near had rarely actually been inside Matt (and coincidentally Mello's) room. Only after the two deserted the orphanage in their attempts to track down Kira did Near ever thoroughly search the room. Evidently by the crinkled chocolate wrappers and protective plastic for purchased merchandise, it hadn't (hasn't? Will not?) change in the sparse time until then.

On the one side of the surprisingly open room an impressive computer console had been set up on a partially wobbly desk unit, scrap plywood, fraying cardboard boxes, and other questionable surfaces. Near was tempted to point out that Roger would happily supply any extra surfaces for Matt if he requested it, but alongside the slightly lopsided computer consoles and various screens supported by suspicious screws through the wall, Near decided against it.

"I haven't actually checked yet, but i'm fairly sure that they're all not actually working right now-"

"It is more likely that the contact numbers are alarms. It's more probable that they simply connect to Mr. Whammy or an answering service that Mr. Whammy supervises." Near cut Matt off with little thought, carefully crossing the carpet towards the many computer screens filled with code or other fast running scripts of information. His eyes wavered a moment on the fast running lines, tinted slightly by the glowing lights installed in the clear confines of one of the numerous desktops.

"Er, yeah." Matt blinked, turning to glance at Near in the large gaming chair. His hands lifting from the blatantly simple keyboard as he readjusted the goggles sitting over his eyes.

"I haven't actually checked them yet, but I can if you want." Matt's eyes slid back over the monitors, pointing to the one furthest left on his entire setup, "That's searching through the data base for his location currently. It's fairly difficult since he hasn't actually publically announced himself since that Lind L. Taylor stunt-"

"Lower your search to regions of Tokyo." Near cut in abruptly.

Matt stiffened, looking at Near cautiously again before exhaling suddenly and spinning in his chair.

Near frowned, shifting awkwardly from where he stood. His toes flexed and stretched, uncomfortably digging into the foreign carpet while Matt crossed his arms.

Near felt somewhat embarrassed to admit that he knew startlingly little about Matt. Beyond the required association between the first and third ranked heir, Near had never gone out of his way to learn more about the red haired male. Now being studied under the unwavering gaze of the other, Near suddenly felt very regretful for his past interaction.

"Alright Near," Matt started, crossing his arms with calm indifference.

'With that posture and tone, he would be inhaling a cigarette in the near future.'

"I can deal with a lot, I live with Mello so that says something," Matt sighed, tone lowering slightly as he shifted one leg to cross at the knee, "But this is starting to get on my nerves."

The pause between words was thick and entirely too long before Near responded mechanically, "I fail to see what you are referencing-"

Matt snapped and pointed accusingly with a mildly affronted look. The sound was enough to startle Near into silence and Matt gazed at him, staring intently at the younger (older) male's eyes.

"Something's been off with you. For a while now." Matt stated, voice drawling off quietly as he seemed to have some sort of wistful look in his eyes before he turned back to the motiners.

The two seemed to stop interacting at that point. Matt didn't seem to notice how Near stood in the centre of the room, peering around aimlessly.

'I cannot fathom why this is impairing my thinking.' Near rationed, logic trying to process why for some inexplicable reason the conversation with Matt had left him with some semblance of loss.

'This is unimportant. All I require is the information Matt will be able to provide. From then on I will be able to proceed and stop the Kira investigation before the loss of L's life and countless others.'

Mello had left his bed unmade. In fact nearly all blankets had been thrust onto the ground sloppily. The thick duvet was piled hazardously on the one side of the bed, a feat which dimly impressed Near with the aggression its owner must had displayed in the night.

"You said Japan right?" Matt's voice broke the established silence, "Well you weren't wrong. I don't know how the hell you figured he'd actually be set base up in Japan but his last known location was heading towards the hotels in Kanto. From there out Whammy must have used that backup bank system he has to make all hotels untraceable."

Near approached, peering over the computer to look at the receipt for a hotel Matt had managed to trace back. It was dated several months, alongside the added notes for large amounts of desserts to be added to the room service bill.

"If it wasn't for the sugar, I would doubt it's him." Mat mumbled, trying to trace the bank account number further.

"You won't be able to find any location through the bank account," Near frowned, eyes narrowing at the unspoken challenge, "Calls from the hotel room?"

"All to the NPA; that was the first place I checked."

Near found himself strangely pleased with Matt's progression of logic.

"Wait-" Matt mumbled, fingers flying as he squinted against the bright background of the monitors. "I'm going to check the WiFi of the hotel. Assuming that L used his own computer which he obviously will, he'd have a computer that would block the IP address actually being registered with all external connections…" Matt mumbled on, taking a moment to slip past the shoddy firewalls the hotel provided.

A few more minutes of furious typing and muffled curses from Matt, Near found himself nearly amused with the situation.

"Still not going to tell me why you're doing this?" Matt asked, voice distorted slightly from where he had managed to get the wire of his headset into his mouth for distracted chewing purposes.

"I told you prior-"

"That you think that L is in 'grievous peril' or some other fancy worded stuff you like to spout out."

Near's neck bristled, "I would prefer you to refrain from asking questions."

"Yeah well, wouldn't we all." Matt muttered under his breath, typing a little while longer to set a search moving through the data. "If there's one thing i've learned from living with Mello, It's that you sometimes have to be pretty stubborn." Matt spun in his chair, stretching backwards before standing stiffly from his lack of movement, "So here's me being stubborn. Near, tell me what is going on right now."

Near set his jaw.

"Or I will delete all of that info you easily snatched for me."

Near had faced several threats in his conflicted short life. Outmaneuvering Kira, recovering from the slaughter of his taskforce, tricking and tracking suspects, orchestrating the eventual meeting and death of his one final enemy, he was not about to be pressured by some...child.

"No, you wouldn't." Near growled lowly, voice... different and startlingly cold in contrast to his apparently age.

"Your actions have already betrayed the fact that you fully intend on remaining on my taskforce. The fact you have an algorithm running and have advanced so sharply would betray your instincts to save information digitally. Deleting it now would simply go against your nature. Residing with Mello's constant presence doesn't necessarily increase your likelihood for sacrifices, instead it increases your boasts and idle threats. You haven't even considered deleting the data, even so deleting the data would remove all information proving that I am in fact tracking Kira on my own. It could also be incriminating why such data was on your computer to begin with, with the right words and framing you could be held responsible for breaking into Roger's office. You know this, which means you want to help me with my job. As this is being conducted in the daylight hours, even when Mello isn't here, you want him to intrude and interrupt thus joining our little group whilst hunting for L." Near's eyes were slits as his voice was calm.

Void of emotion he stared at Matt who had paled drastically and intoned mechanically, "I don't think you will be doing anything, Matt."

Matt stared. It was evident that he was entirely caught off guard and uncomfortable with the situation. With precise slow movements- allowing Near to see every action he did, he turned and hit a combination of keys on the keyboard which resumed the search. Then, he slowly rotated back and looked at Near dead on.

In a quiet voice he asked, "It's almost silly to ask, but you are Near, arent you?"

The silence of the room was only marginally broken by the gentle humming of the numerous computer systems.

"Perhaps I should answer that question another time."

x-(X)-x

Mello became aware of Near's interference with Matt two days after Matt had initiated the search. It was bright sunny day, forcing Near to draw the curtains of his room tightly shut around the sill. He had constructed a magnitude of puzzles already, his memory drawing back the information on where each and every piece was to be placed with little difficulty. Nonetheless, he found the trivial challenge soothing and continued to slot piece after piece into place alongside the monotonous ticking of his alarm clock.

Near didn't look up as he heard the muffled pounding of stomping feet, followed by the loud startling bang! as his door was thrown open in a fury uniquely Mello.

"What have you been doing in my room?" Mello demanded, hissing his words with a passion Near had (dare he say it?) missed.

He smiled ever so slightly.

"Not simply your room, it is Matt's as well if I recall correctly." Near mused quietly, sliding another piece into place before slowly withdrawing his hand. If he remembered accurately, and not through wistful hypothetical thinking he had adopted-Mello had an odd habit of wrecking puzzles when he was mad.

Crnnshh!

'Ah, there it is.' Near exhaled, nearly smug as he slowly looked upwards with an arched eyebrow.

Mello was positively steaming.

"What are you doing with Matt!" Mello hissed once more, eyes aflame with too many emotions for Near's understanding. "What are you plotting?"

'Ah yes. Mello is still focused on performing at a more efficient level than I. Considering my recent interaction with Matt, he must assume that I am dismissing him entirely and viewing him as little threat in terms of academics.' Near looked downwards, selecting a single puzzle piece and playing with it between his fingers, 'In which case the best term of action would to appeal to his other side, admitting that I am requiring help in which I turn to Matt for advice.'

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

'But in doing so would anger him further as I didn't approach him directly. If I phrase the words in such way that suggests I was intending for his help eventually- which I am, he may appeal to my words and decide to join. If I misphrase it there is a possibility he would turn in our information to Roger; we would be placed under 'House Arrest' until I could convince Matt to break the security on our rooms-'

"Are you even listening?"

'-Which could only be conveyed through the passing of notes. The staff resides on this floor as well, the time it takes to convince one to take a note to Matt would be draining, alongside the persuasion of Matt to even cooperate given the stress I have already pressed upon him-'

"You little-"

"I require your help." Near abruptly stated, looking upwards and resting his chin on his hands, "You possess traits that are essential to my activities."

Mello had the decency to look taken aback by Near's sudden cooperation after being silent for so long. His fists continued to clench then relax in what Near assumed was a soothing manner. A half eaten chocolate bar was squished in the front pocket of his black (Not yet leather thank goodness) pants, shifting as he trembled in anger.

"Oh, so there's finally something the great Near can't do?" Mello sneered, eyes fueled with anger.

Eyes nearly glowing as body trembled in anger and hate. Black leather singed with charred skin alongside the putrid stench of ash. Limp noticeable and hair mangy, greased into single strands as head hung low. Rising slowly to peer through wilted bangs, fire like that which damaged his skin, an angry maroon which seemed painful and throbbing to simply stare at-

Near jolted slightly, the movement causing Mello to stare in outright disbelief.

"I-" Near paused ,trying to chase away the dizzying thoughts, "No, despite your belief there are a number of skills I lack and have no intention of learning which you have quite readily at your disposal."

Anger once more.

"So you want my help because you think what I know is below you?"

'And I thought Kira was difficult to negotiate with.'

"I want your help," Near sighed, leaning backwards into a crouch to peer up efficiently, "Because I require it." That caused Mello to pause and stare at him suspiciously. Near sighed.

"What has Matt confessed?" Near asked, reaching for a toy truck within his line of sight. Rolling it over the ground in relaxing motions.

Mello ignored the common display. He crossed his arms, gruffly mumbling, "You wanted his help scanning Japan for something. It's a project outside of Whammy's- I thought Roger said that we weren't to do any cases at the tim-"

"Roger didn't permit it." Near spoke softly, eyes not leaving the truck as he gently batted it from one hand to the other over the white carpet, "I- yes Mello, I am breaking the restrictions placed on us."

Near glanced up at this, Mello having not spoken in a few moments. As expected, Mello looked quite honestly stunned at Near's confession.

"If you don't want to take part," Near continued, voice slightly quieter as he looked downward once more, "I entirely understand-"

"Why are you breaking rules?" Mello asked, voice much quieter and rising in disbelief, "You- You never do this!"

Near paused, "Perhaps I've had a change of heart."

Mello snorted, taking a few steps to criticize a tower of dominoes Near had constructed sometime during the night before.

The silence drew on, Near not looking up.

'If there is one thing I have learned,' Near mused, watching the wheels of the toy lazily spin, 'I know how to be patient-'

"Alright. Why?'

'Something, Mello obviously lacks the knowledge of.'

Near glanced up partially, one hand rising to twirl a strand of hair as he peered out of the corner of his eye. Mello had turned, leaning against the wall with one leg raised, eyes closed in consideration.

"You'll have to be more specific, Mello."

Mello scowled, eyes still closed. "Why. You heard me the first time. You don't just change your mind. Besides, don't you find most cases below you?"

'And for the bait.'

"There's one case that has caught your attention as well." Near quietly mentioned, hair twirling gently between his fingertips, "Kira."

Mello froze.

"Near are you mad." Mello hissed, taking two steps forward while raising his hands as if to lash out in anger, "We- we can't-"

"Don't you want to beat L?" Near calmly asked, looking upwards at Mello with a cold stare, "Because I don't."

Near nearly smiled at the entirely confused stare Mello was giving him.

"I have information that is important to give to L," Near continued, "Vital actually."

'I-" Mello inhaled sharply, shaking his head, "Fine. So why do you need me?"

Near looked up at Mello blankly, "I don't think that L would easily give his whereabouts to Roger. I asked Matt for help in narrowing down L's location, after looking through all information provided for Roger we were right with the assumption that Roger is unaware of L and Whammy's location-"

"You broke into Roger's office?"

"-Leaving us to continue searching," Near continued, ignoring Mello's abrupt words. He stood, hair covering his eyes as he turned to look at Mello with an eerily cold composure, "And I request your help."

There was a ridiculously long pause before Mello sneered wildly. Eyes still confused and betraying his conflicted emotional state.

"Yeah, right, like you're actually hunting down-"

"The information I have for L is of dire importance, Mello." Near spoke, turning and glaring with such intense frustration Mello froze. "You are the only one who I feel is suitable for what I am going to ask of you."

'I am sorry, truly Mello.'

Mello shook his head wildly, looking back and forth, refusing to meet Near's eyes. "And, and what is that?"

'You aren't even fifteen.'

Near smiled very softly.

'But it is required.'

"I will give you a gun."

Mello's eyes widened to near comical proportions.

'This time, Light Yagami will not win.'

"And you are going to murder Kira."

 _VII. Light_

Shinigami were born or created for many different reasons. As Osiris had explained, the majority of Shinigami born were made with a specific drive.

'We take after what we were in life. Many of us have forgotten, or don't care enough to bother remembering. I was born after my assassination, I was...someone important, I don't really care enough to bother finding out. Perhaps a pharaoh? Perhaps a prince? I don't know, I don't care. I wanted them to pay. I was always laughing, you see? Always laughing at them. So they killed me. And now I get to laugh forever, isn't this a fun little game?' Osiris snickered, his jackal face lolling lazily whilst his long feathered hand twitched jittery.

Given time, all desires and drives were eventually lessened. Succumbing to the relentless boredom.

Something that Light quickly realized was a dangerous thing.

The small group of Shinigami he had stumbled on barely moved in the time it took for him to get comfortable and scour the landscape for any sort of movement. By what felt like hours to his internal clock, Kit- the feline Shinigami had shifted to lay on an opposite side of her torso.

The others hadn't fared any better.

"Is this what you do?"

"What?" Someone over on Light's left groaned tiredly, "Lay around? You have any better ideas?"

'Is this what Shinigami do? No wonder Ryuk was so bored with the human realm.'

"What about Humans?"

Kit snorted, her ears twitching as with lidded eyes she scoffed towards him.

"You mean the fodder. Oh please. You're a newborn right? You've probably got a decade on you. I'd take a nap, play a few card games or gamble under the mountain. Much better way to pass time."

"That's easy for you to say, didn't you sleep through those human's war?" The jawless one grunted.

"Wasn't that rough!" Orsis laughed, a hiccuping gulping noise as his feathers vibrated in excitement, "At least ten of us died off from starving! Just turned to sand!"

Light reigned in his frustration and turned to look at the two that hadn't joined in the conversation. The black one which was restricted by some sort of tight jacket, and the purple stone.

"If you need time." The purple one grunted, voice rough like gravel. Its one hand lifted to slowly curl into a pointing position, angling off to the left of the direction Light had been traveling. "That is the closest pool."

"And the Death Notes?" Light asked, nearly hissing it with how slow everyone seemed to be reacting and responding, "How do I get one?"

At that everyone looked over either confused, or interested. Even the one without a name seemed to rotate and stare at him from behind the black curtains.

"What do you mean, newbie?" Orsis jumped down from his sprawl on a rock, landing in an animalistic crawl. It tilted its head nearly entirely sideways.

"Everyone is born with a Death Note." The jawless one, Gray, spoke from the side. "You already lost yours?"

"It wasn't there!" Light hissed, eyesight flaring and pulsating with the new colours he hadn't known prior.

"Because you lost it." Kit sneered, rolling her eyes as if Light had done something disgraceful.

Light curled his hands into a tight fist, barely noticing as the longer digits seemed sharper, edged at the nail with a serrated tip.

"It's much more likely that he never had it." A new voice, something not masculine or feminine, tinged along the edges with a biological voice scrambler.

Something about it unnerved Light to a large degree. A brief memory of Near's unsettling smile in the Orange Box Warehouse.

"What? He never had it? What are you talking about Kit?"

'What? But Kit is the female-' "Marik now."

Everyone nodded half heartedly while Light tried his best to hide his confusion.

"The little guy changes his name," The real Kit explained, nose wrinkling, "It was cute for a while but now it's just a bore."

"Marik," Light addressed, looking straight at the bipedal blur, "What do you mean?"

It paused, shifting on its feet almost unsure.

"Ah, the new guy doesn't bite. Go on!" Orsis snickered.

"It seems likely that your Death Note didn't form more than you lost it." 'Marik' explained, "As the watcher Klum doesn't seem the type to even try to take a note-"

"You know Klum?" Light blurted, hadn't even thinking of the odd disfigured elephant shinigami.

Marik managed to give Light a deadpanned look without actually occupying a face.

"'Marik'" Kit spat out, clearly disliking the game, "Came by before you. Maybe a few years- not a decade I don't think, but he's still newblood."

'Oh is he?'

"Your Note was left behind when you died." 'Marik' said. With a slight waddle, his bent over form turned and started walking with a hunched shuffle out of the quasi circle.

"Oh yeah! Didn't that happen with uh, what's the guy's name- the one with the two tails." Gray spoke, tongue flopping uselessly.

"Oh for-" Kit sighed,"Who cares? He found his notebook didn't he? In the human world."

"Wait Wait! Remember the time paradox!" Orsis snickered, shudders making his feathers flutter in the monotone landscape, "It didn't exist until he flew into the Human World!"

'What? What is this?'

Kit shook her head, giving an exasperated look at Gray who just blinked slowly.

"Oh dear, this is what it is." She sighed, cleaning her claws. With a dramatic click, she pointed at Light with narrowed eyes. "When a Shinigami is born they get sent back a little while. So right now, since your newborn, you're probably still alive with the cattle-"

"She means humans." Gray slowly interrupted, causing Kit to hiss loudly.

'What?'

"Wait- I don't seem to understand," Light smiled, shaking his head politely, "When you say 'sent back a little'"

"In time!" Orsis giggled, "A Shinigami had to butcher you! So you won't just wake up and want payback!"

'Sent back in time? Does that mean that right now, I am punishing at this very moment?'

Light frowned slightly, before his eyes lit ever so slightly. Gently they pulsated a red known only to Shinigami.

'Does that mean, that I can change the past? That I can kill Near, and I will win!'

Light turned away, a smile twitching on the corners of his lips and threatening to entirely overwhelm him, 'Yes! With powers of an actual god of death, Kira will reign! Before I called myself Kira, but now, now I am a God!'

"I think Marik was going to show you to a pool." Gray grunted out, tone graveling as he slowly pointed towards the distant blur that was growing smaller.

Light turned, eyes glowing.

'I will find Near or L. And I will kill everyone who stands in my way.'

His mouth curled in a smile, stretching further and further until the faint sound of tearing skin and a slightly stretched feeling extended past the corners of his mouth, back far to his jawline.

'And I will stand as the true god of the new world.'


End file.
